


Time is Precious (Waste it Wisely)

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Age Differences, College AU, Flirting, Get-Together Fic, M/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 06:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11730987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: McCoy is the bitter senior; Jim is the perky freshman.They're a match made in some kind of heaven.





	Time is Precious (Waste it Wisely)

**Author's Note:**

> this has been sitting in my drafts forever; i think i originally intended it to be a lot longer and more of a full story. but i dredged up this little thing and felt it worked really well as a oneshot. enjoy this mindless little fun!

Leonard blinks wearily at the bushy-tailed, blonde-haired, blue-eyed monstrosity of a freshman staring him down. It’s too early for this, and he mumbles as such, not that it does anything to deter the ever stubborn, unrelenting James T. Kirk. Leonard swallows around a yawn and does his best to glare—not that it changes a damn thing. Jim just keeps right on beaming at him, happy as a clam, until finally, Leonard breaks.

“What the hell d’ya want, Jim?” Leonard croaks.

Jim continues to smile. “A date,” he replies simply. Like it’s—like it’s actually _simple_ , as though that’s a normal answer to a perfectly normal query at too-fucking-early o’clock on a Saturday morning.

Leonard puts more force into his blinking, as though that’ll reveal this all to be some delusion or dream. It doesn’t. “Pardon me?” He asks while rubbing at his eyes. “Jim,” he growls in warning.

Jim bats his eyes, all wide and full of false innocence. “C’mon, Bones, one date!” He smacks Leonard’s arm like that’s meant to convince him. “We can go somewhere really nice, my treat.”

Leonard groans and shakes off the kid’s touch. “You’re outta your mind,” he tells Jim plainly. He stands, then, and ignores the way his knees creak. When did he get so old? He spares a glance at Jim’s ceaselessly hopeful expression and feels himself age ten—no, _fifteen_ years more, just by looking at his damn face. Leonard opens his mouth to say something else scathing, a deterrent of sorts, but finds nothing comes to mind. Instead, he plucks his cup from the table and leaves without saying another word.

Jim doesn’t follow, which is nothing short of a miracle.

 

 

 

The miracle continues for three straight days—Jim doesn’t hassle Leonard once. Not a peep from the freshman, not even so much as a ‘hello’ or ‘how’s it going.’ Nothing. As the third day is coming to a close, Leonard feels tight in his skin; he feels the panic build up, first in his gut and then bubbling into his throat. He paces around his room, fidgets, frets—berates himself for getting so agitated when he and Jim could barely be called _friends_.

And yet, he’s worrying, over _Jim_. He knows enough about the kid to know Jim attracts trouble like a moth to a flame, and can’t help but picture all the horrible situations Jim could’ve gotten himself into by now.

At the peak of his freak-out, there are three soft knocks to his dorm room door. He pauses in his pacing and stares, at first. Doesn’t move to answer the door, not right away, not until a quiet and awkward cough sounds from the other side. Leonard creeps closer as though approaching a skittish animal. He leans near the door and strains his ears. Eventually, he catches the softest voice, timid yet determined.

“Bones?”

Leonard’s heart thuds up into his throat and he chokes on the emotions threatening to strangle him. He keys open the code to open the door so fast, he’s amazed he gets it right on the first try. Not caring that he’s in casual sleep pants and a soft, well-worn t-shirt, he lets the door slip open and reveal none other than James T. Kirk standing on the other side.

“Jim” he breathes. “Good lord, kid.” Leonard runs a hand through his own hair, further mussing the already crazed state of his brown, cropped locks. “Shit.” He shakes his head, fond and disbelieving.

“Bones?” Jim asks again, voice louder this time and tinged with amusement. “S’just me.” He peeks his head into Leonard’s room and stares expectantly. “Gonna let me in or not?”

Leonard takes an immediate step back. “Course, yeah, c’mon, Jim.” He gestures the underclassman inside and allows the door to shut after him. “Haven’t seen you in a while,” Leonard remarks while leading the way to the kitchenette. He pulls down two glasses and retrieves a bottle of whiskey from the back of a cupboard. “Want a glass?”

Jim barks out a laugh. He nods, and waits until the shimmering liquid has been poured and the glass is in his hand before he speaks again. “You know I’m only nineteen, right?”

Leonard swallows his sip of whiskey a little quicker than he means to. “Of course you are,” he groans. He contemplates, for a brief second, taking the booze away from Jim. Then figures that’s more of a scuffle than he wants to get into right now. “Just don’t drive after this, n’if you get caught you better not rat my sorry ass out.”

Jim beams, eyes bright and lively. He sips at the whiskey while never breaking his gaze with Leonard. “So, aren’t you gonna ask what brings me by?”

Leonard scoffs. “As if I’d need to ask you that to know. Figure you got tired of avoidin’ me for three days and needed to catch up on your quest to drive me into an early grave.” Leonard shakes his head, again fond, and pours himself a few more fingers of whiskey after downing his first helping. Jim doesn’t speak, so around the lip of his glass, Leonard continues. “Am I wrong?”

Jim pinks in the cheeks. “Not really. I mean.” He sips at his drink again, lips twisting around the bitter taste. “I wasn’t _avoiding_ you.”

Leonard raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

“I wasn’t!” Jim exclaims. “I was busy, you know. I am _actually_ a student.”

Leonard hides his grin in a nonchalant sip of whiskey.

Jim makes a keening, whiny noise. “Whatever,” he bites back. He knocks back the last few sips, a shudder quick to follow as the booze burns down his throat. “I wanted to see you,” he says loudly.

Leonard can’t stop the blush that hits the back of his neck and threatens to spread. “Yeah?” He asks, still aiming for casually.

Jim nods wildly. “Yeah.” He shifts, always full of energy, bouncing and bright and lively even in the face of Leonard’s own gloom. “We—look.” Jim’s expression shifts. It doesn’t turn… stormy, exactly. But it’s dark, serious, a considerable contrast from everything Leonard has seen up to this point. “I know you think I’m probably just some really annoying freshman, and I know you’ve probably got plenty of other things to do than to hang out with me, but…” Jim finally looks away as he shrugs uneasily.

“Kid,” Leonard starts quietly.

“I just wanted to hang out, Bones. Is that okay?” Jim looks nervous, a forced bravado still weakly emanating from him. “It’s the weekend, I just figured it’d be—?”

“Jim, shut up.” Leonard plucks the empty glass from Jim’s fingers and sets it aside. “You worry too much.” Leonard keeps his voice stern. “I ain’t got nothin’ better to be doing and no one better to be spending my time with, alright?” He shoves at Jim’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s watch a holovid or something.”

Jim’s entire demeanor shifts in an instant and he practically bounds toward the couch. He drops his bag by the side and strips out of his cadet jacket. He falls onto the couch and makes himself comfortable without further fretting.

Leonard snorts quietly. “You pick something, I don’t care what.” He sets his half-finished glass on the end table before taking a seat beside Jim. He relaxes as Jim searches through his files for something to watch; he watches the kid mumble to himself excitedly, until finally something apparently catches his eye.

Jim flashes him a quick, bright grin and a wink before selecting whatever it is he’s found. He settles back against the couch and it isn’t missed by Leonard that there’s significantly less space between them than before. “I love this movie,” Jim says like he isn’t radiating delight and eagerness.

“Never would’ve guessed.” Leonard tacks a small smile on to the end of the teasing, and Jim pinks at the expression. “Say Jim?”

Jim isn’t looking at him for the moment, instead focused so intently on the screen as the vid begins. He nods, though, and replies “uh huh” idly curious, and quiet.

 “Y’know, uh,” Leonard stumbles over his words. He’s grateful that the vid continues to distract his younger companion—companion, _ha_. Try as he might to convince himself otherwise, Jim is probably the only friend he’s got on campus. Hell, quite possibly the only friend he’s got on this whole damn planet. “Was worried about you, kid.”

Jim startles and his attention drags from the vid to Leonard in an instant. “Really?” He asks softly, his voice similar to earlier when he’d been waiting on the other side of Leonard’s door. “You were worried?” A grin teases at the corners of his lips, but much to Leonard’s surprise Jim doesn’t start yipping and jumping for joy.

“Yeah,” Leonard scoffs. He does his best to put as much strained affection into his voice as possible, does his best not to sound shaky and vulnerable as he admits the truth. “Haven’t gone hardly a day this year so far without seein’ your mug, and then you up and disappear for three whole days.” Leonard shrugs and reaches for his whiskey. “I know you, all the trouble you get into. Worried you’d ended up in a ditch somewhere.”

Jim’s grin grows delicate but no less broad. He turns and faces Leonard and scoots ever closer. “Aw, Bones, that’s so sweet!” His voice is sugary, a taunt, but Leonard can’t find it in himself to bristle at the tone. He snorts and shakes his head. “I missed you too,” Jim tells him simply. Damn near everything out of Jim’s mouth is _simple_ , words tumbling from those lips like speaking his mind is the easiest thing in the world.

Leonard envies him, in all honestly. “Lemme ask you something,” he says suddenly.

Jim’s expression shifts to intrigued and he nods eagerly. “Go for it.”

“Why’re you always askin’ for a date?” Leonard about bites his tongue to stop the flow of words that threatened to come flooding forward. All his insecurities and bitterness at the world—Jim doesn’t need to hear about that. Jim doesn’t need to hear that Leonard thinks of himself like a loser, a divorced man with a better collection of alcohol than pleasant memories.

“Bones? Did I lose you?” Jim’s fingers snap insistently in front of Leonard’s face.

“Uh, shit, sorry, yeah.” Leonard hides his flush of embarrassment by swallowing the last of his booze in a heavy gulp. “Start over?” He requests, sheepish.

Jim just smiles, all too happy to oblige. “Because you’re hot,” he starts and holds up a single finger. He pauses for show, as though struggling to think of other things to say. “You’re smart,” he says and holds up another finger. “You hate to admit it but you’re kind, you’ve got a warm mushy center.” He holds up a third finger to go with his verbal bulleted list, and his grin widens. “You keep rejecting me, but I know it’s just for show so I figure I’ll wear you down eventually.”

Leonard sets his empty glass aside and waves a dismissing hand around. “Hold your horses, Jim, what makes you think my rejection is for _show_?” He quirks a lopsided grin at Jim, warmed when the expression is returned in kind.

“Oh come on, Bones. Who would resist this?”

“I can think of at least two other people here on campus, right off the top of my head.”

Jim pouts. “Spock and Uhura don’t count, for _so_ many reasons.”

Leonard just laughs; his eyes slip shut and he revels in the warmth of amusement. It isn’t until he opens his eyes that he realizes Jim has shuffled even closer, is nearly looming over Leonard with a gently predatory glint in his sky blue eyes. “Uh, Jim?”

“Say the word and I will back off right now and never try anything again.” Jim’s words are hushed and hurried and hit Leonard’s face like a biting breeze.

“Jim,” Leonard groans. His heart is hammering in his chest. “I’m a senior.”

“So?”

“I’ve been married n’divorced in the time it took you to graduate high school.”

Jim giggles but shrugs. “So?” He asks again.

Leonard frowns. “Shouldn’t you be interested in someone your own age?”

Jim lets out an enormous sigh tinged with amusement. “Oh my god, Bones, you make it sound like you’re sixty and I’m some kid still in high school, what the hell?” He laughs again and lays a tentative hand on Leonard’s shoulder. “We’re, what, three or four years apart?”

“Four,” Leonard confirms weakly.

Jim shrugs again. “See, that’s not so bad.”

“Suppose not,” Leonard agrees.

Jim’s eyes, wide and blue, are so intensely focused on Leonard it nears unnerving. “If you really want me to back off, Bones, you know I will. I just thought you were, y’know, fooling around. Playing hard to get.”

“I’ll be honest, Jim, I thought you were probably yankin’ my chain.” He holds up a hand to put a stop to any immature come-ons that are no doubt at the tip of Jim’s tongue. “I’m not—I’m not sure about this,” he says, although his whole body feels drawn like a magnet to Jim’s. “Don’t want you regrettin’ this. You’re a good friend, ‘nd I’d hate to wreck that.”

Jim’s grin is teasing but sweet. He reaches out and pats Leonard’s cheek. “We’ll take it slow, okay?” With that, he sits back. He’s still close enough to make Leonard squirm, but his hand falls from Leonard’s stubbled cheek and he relaxes.

Leonard blinks at Jim and slowly his mouth drops open in a small gape. “Come again?” He asks after the silence has stretched far too long, so long that Jim’s attention has almost been drawn back to the vid.

“We can take it slow,” Jim repeats easily. “What’s the point in dating if you’re not dating your best friend? We can work our way up to the big stuff. For now, if it makes you feel better, we can be good friends who hold hands and think about kissing each other frequently.”

Leonard’s mouth goes dry but he manages a chuckle. “Seems like you thought an awful lot about the possible ways this could go.”

“ _Duh_ ,” Jim replies. “It’s one of the main things I’ve focused on since I met you.” He shrugs before finally reaching out again. He links his fingers with Leonard’s and squeezes. “I’m really excited to see where this can go, regardless of how we get there. I mean—I’m excited for that part, too. I’m excited for all of it whatever it entails.”

Leonard lets out a long and shaking exhale. “You’re far too wise sometimes, for a damn teenager.”

Jim just grins, wide and bright as ever.


End file.
